How Netflix gambled $100M to create a blockbuster- House of Cards?

Back in 2011, House of Cards, a remake of an earlier British series was chosen to air on Netflix. But it was unlike other TV shows, because instead of launching a pilot, Netflix commissioned it for two seasons. It was a $100Mn investment, and they needed this to take off.

So how did Netflix secure its success?

Well, Netflix knew these 3 things from the data it gathered:

1.) Many users watched David Fincher directed “The Social Network'' from start to finish.

2.) Users loved the British version of “House of Cards”.

3.) Users who watched the British version also watched Kevin Spacey films and/or films directed by David Fincher.

And each of these 3 synergistic factors contained a significant number of users, which is why House of Cards happened, with Kevin Spacey in the lead role and David Fincher as the director.

Further, Netflix made 10 different cuts of its trailer, and each of these was geared toward different audiences. How? Simple, the trailer you would get to see would be based on your previous viewing behavior. For eg. if you watched a lot of Kevin Spacey films, you saw a trailer featuring him.

And according to the Atlantic Wire, it brought in 2 Mn new U.S. subscribers & 1 Mn new subscribers from elsewhere in the world. And in total, these 3 Mn subscribers almost paid Netflix back for the cost of House of Cards.

So now you know the secret sauce behind all the hit Netflix Specials - Big Data. Brilliant, right?

Credits: Finshots